Thomas Rhett Earns Country's First No. 1 Album Of 2017 With 'Life Changes'

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 07: Singer-songwriter Thomas Rhett participates in SiriusXM's Town Hall hosted by Hoda Kotb at SiriusXM Studios on September 7, 2017, in New York City. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

For the first time this year, an album that can safely be described as country is running the show on the Billboard 200, the chart that measures the most popular full-lengths in the U.S. during any given week.

Thomas Rhett’s latest studio effort Life Changes starts its time on the ranking at No. 1, granting the singer-songwriter his first leader on that ranking. The title kicks off with 123,000 equivalent copies shifted, of which, 94,000 were actual sales.

Life Changes marks Rhett’s first chart-topper on the Billboard 200 and his third top 10. All three of his albums have managed to break into the region, though this latest one blows past his previous high point with relative ease. Both his debut It Goes Like This and sophomore follow-up Tangled Up stopped at No. 6 on the listing.

While he has been tipped as a talented performer, songwriter and all-around star since he first burst onto the mainstream country scene back in 2013, Rhett’s career really advanced to the next level back in 2015 when his single “Die A Happy Man” took off in a major way, solidifying him as the most exciting name in the genre. The track went on to become his highest-charting cut yet, hitting No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart (his first on that specific list) and peaking at No. 21 on the all-genre Hot 100, a rare placement for a country tune.

Rhett didn’t wait too long after the success of “Die” and its subsequent Tangled Up singles to get going on Life Changes, and that decision likely helped him launch a new record in the top spot. This era was introduced by lead single “Craving You,” which features fellow country newcomer and current favorite Maren Morris. The song was a top five hit across all the genre-specific charts, and it barely broke into the Top 40 on the Hot 100, while follow-up single “Unforgettable” has thus far reached No. 65, but it could easily continue to climb.

While Rhett may be the first country name to own the No. 1 position on the Billboard 200 in 2017, this week’s top 10 sees a handful of talented artists from that world debut their latest wares within the region, proving that while it might have taken a while to reclaim the throne, country is still beloved by many Americans.